Computer systems and data servers often require large-capacity data storage systems. These data storage systems typically include a plurality of enclosures, such as disk-processor enclosures (DPE) and disk-array enclosures (DAE). Housed within these enclosures are various types of subassemblies or electronics modules. For example, a typical disk-processor enclosure, configured for redundancy, has two storage processor boards, two power supplies, and, optionally, a plurality of disk-drive modules and two link control cards. A typical disk-array enclosure, configured for redundancy, includes a plurality of disk-drive modules, two link control cards, and two power supplies. The disk-drive modules in these enclosures cooperate according to a desired data storage application, e.g., JBOD (Just a Bunch of Disks), RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disks), and SAN (Storage Area Network).
The construction of a data storage system generally involves mounting multiple enclosures within one or more racks. To make efficient use of the useable vertical space within a rack, the enclosures and various electronics modules housed within them have constraints on their physical dimensions. Accordingly, many electronics modules, such as power supplies, have relatively small vertical dimensions, i.e., 1U and 2U.
These physical constraints have produced crowded front panels for small electronics modules; crowded, for example, with air vents, handles, and sockets for electrical plugs. Normally, an electronics module would also have latching mechanisms on their front panels for securing the module to the enclosure. By being located on the front panel, the latching mechanism simplified the installation and removal of the electronics module. With less space now available on some front panels, however, continued use of such latching mechanisms would require the loss of other potentially crucial features, e.g., the air vents.